A Concern for Secrecy
by L1701E
Summary: One-shot. Set during "Kingdom Hearts: Mutants of Twilight". Wildstar and Jinx discuss the necessity of keeping the West Coast Misfits secret on Muir Island. Read and Review please!


**A Concern for Secrecy**

**Disclaimer: Ace Starr is mine. Jinx belongs to DC Comics.**

**Hey there, folks! L1701E here! Here for you is a brand new one-shot set in RogueFanKC's Misfitverse. It's set just before Chapter 28 of "Kingdom Hearts: Mutants of Twilight". Enjoy! Oh, and here's a quote for you: "Ray, you're about as Scottish as a Big Mac." - Peter Venkman, _The Real Ghostbusters_**

**Muir Island, off the northern coast of Scotland.**

Muir Island. The home of Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Moira MacTaggert, and her facility where she did her research. It was also a medical ward for young mutants that had debilitating mutants. One mutant that was watching the skies, however, had no need of MacTaggert's research. His brown hair was cut short, and gel was used to spike it up, making the young mutant frown and run a hand through it. He missed his long mane, but it would grow back, so he dismissed it. He looked down at the clothes that covered his powerful, burly frame: A plain long-sleeved black shirt and jeans. He frowned at his outfit.

"I can't believe she made me wear this stuff." Ace Starr mumbled to himself. "I really can't." A feral mutant with a blue eight-pointed star birthmark over his right eye, Ace Starr's mutation reflected the lion, giving him great strength, speed, agility, and reflexes. His most unique aspect of his mutation was that from his fingertips, he could manifest claws made of blue laser energy, claws strong enough to slice stainless steel. He also could fire beams of blue energy from his fists, much like his cousins could do from their eyes.

"It's not a crime to look good for guests, Ace." A voice teased. Ace turned his head, and saw a pink-haired girl with matching cat-like eyes, wearing a black long-sleeved dress-like outfit with black boots. She was known only as Jinx, a former member of the HIVE and the enemy of the Teen Titans, until she helped the heroes during Trigon's Armageddon. Afterwards, she was expelled from the HIVE Academy, and had nowhere to go until she was found by General Whithalf and brought into the West Coast Misfits, a secret offshoot of the Misfits based in California. There, she befriended the feral Ace Starr. General Whithalf had sent them to help keep an eye on Moira MacTaggert's research. They were the only two members of the West Coast Misfits that he could send. Jake Wildfire, the Red Dragon, had to kept on the down-low (much to his chagrin), and the Superstars were gathering intel on their tour, much to the fury of the Thunderbolt.

"Aw come on, babe." Ace rolled his chocolate brown eyes. "I don't think it'd be that offending for them to see me in my usual clothes. What's wrong with my rock shirts and jeans?" He then looked down at his bare hands. "I miss my biker gloves and my studded wristbands, too. I feel naked without them."

"As I said, it's not a crime to clean yourself up for guests." Jinx chuckled. She noticed Ace ran a hand through his hair again. "And to be honest, I think you look good with the shorter hair."

"I don't matter, anyway. I'm Ace Starr." Ace grinned. "I look good no matter what." Jinx shook her head with a chuckle.

"Whatever you say." The witch shook off Ace's moment of cockiness. "So, you excited about meeting the X-Men? This'll be the first time they see you."

"Yeah." Ace chuckled. "I've seen some of those X-Dudes on the tube. I tell ya, they got some really nice-lookin' birds on that team."

"Birds?" Jinx blinked.

"My mom's from England." Ace explained. "'Bird' is British slang for girl."

"I thought it meant 'tramp'." Jinx blinked.

"Nah, you're thinking of 'slag' or 'tart'." Ace shook his head. "Trust me, my mom thinks a lot of those female singers out today are tarts."

"I don't blame her." Jinx shrugged. "I prefer Indian music myself. Reminds me of home."

"Indian?" Ace blinked. "As in from India?"

"Mm-hmm." Jinx nodded with a smile. "I'm from India."

"Cool." Ace grinned. "You know, my Mom loves Indian food. They have a lot of places for that over there in England, much like Chinese places over here." Jinx nodded.

"Yeah." She looked at the complex. "Look at all of this. I do have to give Dr. MacTaggart credit. Dedicating her life to helping mutants with problematic mutations? I'm surprised she got the Nobel Prize."

"Yeah, but that thingy she's working on gives me the creeps." Ace winced. "I really don't feel comfortable with that thing she's working on."

"It's not a weapon, Ace." Jinx tried to reassure the feral. "She created it to help those who have become ill due to their powers."

"Alfred Nobel had a good intention when he created dynamite, and look what happened." Ace responded. "He ended up being known as the 'Merchant of Death'."

"Since when did you become so serious?" Jinx blinked. Ace shrugged.

"I dunno. I guess this whole Gathering thing over the horizon. It's messing with everyone's heads."

"Yeah, I don't blame you." Jinx looked at her watch. "The X-Men will be arriving soon."

"Can't wait!" Ace grinned, rubbing his hands. "I tell you, wait till those X-Men get a load of me."

"I'm sure they'll love you, Ace." Jinx chuckled. "You know, I was thinking."

"About what?"

"You know our membership in the West Coast Misfits?" Ace nodded at Jinx's question. "I think we should keep it quiet."

"What for?" Ace blinked.

"Look, I've heard stories, Ace." Jinx explained. "There has been a lot of hostilities between the X-Men and the Misfits. Especially since the Misfits have been given those Keyblades. The X-Men think they deserve them more than Misfits."

"Somehow, I doubt that _Pluto_ would be capable of personal preference." Ace frowned. "Besides, what does that have to do with the West Coast Misfits? None of us have any issues with the X-Men. That old feud came from the fact that several of the original Misfits came from Magneto's old Brotherhood of Mutants."

"But still, I doubt the X-Men would be happy to learn about there being a second Misfit team." Jinx sighed. "They might not trust us if they learn we are part of a second Misfit team."

"Then what'll we tell them if they see us here?" Ace blinked. "We can't say we're patients. Well, you especially can't. And trust me." Ace smirked, lifting a hand and making what he called his 'laser claws', energy constructs capable of slicing steel, appear. "My claws have never let me down before."

"We can tell them General Hawk recruited us to be part of a task force dealing with some terrorist problems on the West Coast. Wolfram and Hart are back in LA, so we can just use that as a cover story." Jinx explained simply. Ace burst out laughing. "What? _What?_"

"Oh, come on!" The feral mutant laughed. "That cover story is so ridiculous! Did Bazooka write that for you?"

"It is the truth, Ace." Jinx slightly winced, realizing why Ace found it so funny. She had to admit, the alibi was a bit thin, but it was the only thing that she could think of.

"Jinx, babe, don't get me wrong. But the X-Men, they're not stupid. Think about it, Jinx. Superpowered teens recruited by a member of GI Joe to help fight Cobra and investigate super-crime? They hear that, and they'll think one word: Misfits." Ace explained. "I can understand why you don't want to tell them about the West Coast Misfits, but if you ask me, I think keeping secrets like this would be a bad idea, especially now."

"Ace, we may end up making things worse between the X-Men and the Misfits if we reveal that!"

"Then we'll just say we're just two of the members. We'll tell them the truth, we're on the good guys' side, and none of us joined the West Coast Misfits out of dislike for the X-Men. I joined up because my cousins recommended me, and to be honest...I wanted to have some adventures and meet chicks, kinda like Indiana Jones back in the day."

"Of course." An amused Jinx rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, showing her complete lack of surprise.

"You know that you love it." Ace teased. "And I have to admit, I was surprised to find that the man was real. I thought he was a movie character."

"Those movies were based on his adventures." Jinx explained. "Spielberg and Lucas met the man and said they heard about his adventures in the 1940s, and wanted to retell them in an updated style of the 1940s serials. Dr. Jones gave the OK, and there you have it."

"Yeah, I loved those movies as a kid." Ace grinned. "My favorite had to be the first one. You know, the one where he finds the Ark of the Covenant. I wonder what happened to that thing. Dr. Jones himself said he had no clue." *****

"I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up in some warehouse somewhere." The pink-haired girl remarked.

"Yeah, would not surprise me." Ace agreed with a nod. He looked out at the horizon. "So, the X-Men, huh?"

"Yup." Jinx nodded. She smiled at the feral mutant. "Don't worry, Ace. They'll like you."

"The girls will, I know that." Ace smirked. "I just think it's silly letting them see me like this. I mean, I'm in the family business, you know? I am a metal head, and I am proud of it!"

"And I say that there is nothing wrong with looking nice on occasion." Jinx insisted. _Metalhead? That may be true, but I know about those Motown CDs you have amongst your metal bands._ "And besides..." The pink-haired luck-manipulator blushed slightly. "I think you look very handsome." Ace smirked.

"It ain't the clothes, babe. It's the man in them." The feral mutant snickered. A whooshing noise was heard.

"WHOO-HOO!" A young boy's voice was heard whooping. "Whoo-hoo Whoo-hoo Whoo-hoo!"

"BARTHOLOMEW ALLEN!" The voice of Sean Cassidy, a mutant with a sonic scream and Moira's assistant, was heard roaring. "GET BACK HERE AND EAT YER MASHED POTATOES!"

"DON'T WANNA!" Bart yelled. Ace and Jinx looked at each other, blinking.

"Hyperactive, isn't he?" Jinx blinked.

"That kid needs Ritalin. Seriously." Ace shook his head. "Could you imagine if he ended up in the West Coast Misfits? God..." The brown-haired feral shuddered.

"Yeah." Jinx nodded. "That'd be something. Anyway, I think we should keep quiet about the West Coast Misfits. I know that you don't like it, Ace, but think about this: The X-Men are pretty hacked off about the Misfits getting Keyblades and magic and that kid of stuff. If they find out we're part of a second Misfit team, things will get worse between them. And besides, you have to admit...it's kinda not important right now. All they need to know is that we're the good guys." Ace sighed at that. "Also...the Wildfire brothers' safety would be compromised. Less people know they're still alive, the better."

"Alright, I'll go with it, you have a point." Ace sighed, raising his hands in a peace-making gesture. "But for the record, I still think we should tell them straight up. I think they'll figure it out at some point, especially with your cover story."

"I knew you'd see it my way." Jinx grinned.

"If they find out and get mad at us, just remember this, Pinky..." Ace shot a cocky smirk at the young former H.I.V.E member. "I told you so."

"Uh, hello?" A Scottish-accented voice popped up. The two young West Coast Misfits turned their heads and saw a smiling Rahne Sinclair walking towards them. "I hope I'm nae interrupting anything important. I can leave if ye are."

"Naw, we're not talking about anything important." Ace shook his head. "Just looking out at the sky and sea. I have to admit, this is my first time in Scotland. I've been to England a buncha times."

"Ace's mother is English." Jinx explained. "He has family over there." Rahne nodded.

"Ah. Well..." The redheaded werewolf-like mutant scuffed her foot on the ground. "How ye likin' the facility so far?"

"It's very nice." Jinx complimented sincerely. "You should be very proud of your foster mother. She does good work."

"Thanks." Rahne smiled. Her smile widened when she looked out in the horizon. "I can hardly wait to see the X-Men again. I do miss them."

"Ever think about re-joining them?" Jinx wondered.

"Well..." Rahne sighed sadly. "I have a question. Tae be honest...I really am happy here. I mean, I did make some great friends in the X-Men, but...Muir Island is my home. Moira MacTaggert is like a mother ta me."

"Then if they ask if you want back in the X-Men, let them know that." Jinx advised. "I'm sure they will understand."

"Yeah, Wolfy. Don't worry about it." Ace chuckled. A sound of crashing was heard.

"BART ALLEN!" The voice of Pete Wisdom was heard roaring. "I'M GOING TO SHOVE SOME HOT KNIVES RIGHT UP YER ARSE, YOU LITTLE-!"

"Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo!"

"I'm begging to think Bart Allen's problem is not his powers." Ace blinked. "That boy's got some serious screws loose."

"He's just hyperactive." Rahne defended. "He's na a bad kid. It's from his powers. He has trouble keeping still because of his speed."

"I'm pretty quick myself." Ace frowned. "I can run around 50 mph for short periods, but I have no trouble sitting still."

"Your mutation is of a lion, Ace." Jinx reminded dryly. "Lions like sitting still. In fact, the males like to sit on their butts and let the women do all the hunting. I suppose we should be thankful that lions don't have television."

"If they did, they they'd have TV dinners, and then we'd have no more problems." Ace joked in response. Jinx rolled her eyes and chuckled. Rahne giggled.

"You two seem very comfortable with each other." The Scottish girl remarked.

"Ace was the first person to welcome me to my new home." Jinx explained. "He's been my best friend since."

"I figured the gal could use one." Ace remarked.

"Are ye excited about meeting the X-Men, Ace?" Rahne asked the feral.

"Yup." The Los Angeles native nodded with a grin. "Never got to meet them in person before, only saw them on TV."

"You just can't wait to see the girls." Jinx teased. Ace grinned.

"I know what I like, Pinky." The feral mutant told the two girls sagely. He noticed Theresa Rourke, the dark blonde-haired daughter of Sean Cassidy, the Banshee, walk up to the small group. Theresa had inherited her father's sonic powers, which led Ace to refer to her as "Siryn", because of her powers and her looks.

"The X-Men are on their way." The girl announced, her voice showing an Irish brogue. "Their jet is coming. The adults want us to come to the aircraft landing site."

"Comin', Blondie." Ace jauntily saluted as he and the other kids followed the Irish girl. Even though the feral mutant was excited to meet the X-Men, he had to admit, he was slightly nervous about some things. One was obviously the idea to keep the West Coast Misfits' existence a secret. He understood why Jinx wanted it kept quiet, but he still felt that maybe the X-Men should know. He also was concerned about that project Moira MacTaggert was working on. He saw movies, and according to the movies, something like that created with a good intention tended to end up going horribly wrong and biting everyone in the butt. He liked to think that wouldn't happen here. Moira was too good a scientist. But a part of him would not stop going on the feral about it...

"You alright, Ace?" Jinx blinked in concern. The feral mutant shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine. Let's go see the X-Men."

_**Thanks for Reading!**_

*** - At the end of _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, the Ark of the Covenant ended up in a government warehouse, locked away and forgotten. The Ark would make a brief re-appearance in the beginning of _Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull._**


End file.
